1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a device for positioning a document over a scanning surface, and more particularly to a process and apparatus for limiting a document""s physical interaction with the circulation path of a feeder and the associated scanning surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various peripheral devices have been developed over the years to allow a user to make a copy of a document. A document may be a sheet of paper, a transparency or a photographic print. The basic process involves positioning the desired document over a scanning surface so that the image on the document can be captured for reproduction, electronic or paper. However, this straightforward process in not so simple when multiple photographic prints must be copied without the users"" intervention. This is particularly true because of the vulnerable nature of the materials used to create and portray an image on a photographic print.
To better understand the above difficulties of using a conventional feeder system for photographic prints, the process used to feed multiple sheets of paper over a scanning surface with a conventional feeder will now follow.
A conventional paper feeder system typically includes multiple rollers for containing a single belt that circulates any desired sheet of paper over the scanning surface when a belt motor is active. More specifically, a feeding roller, positioned adjacent the tray for containing the multiple sheets, rotates to grab a single sheet from the tray. Next, a single system belt drags the grabbed sheet across the feeding roller, the metal borders that secure the scanning surface, and the scanning surface itself to a desired scanning position. After the sheet has been scanned, it is returned to the tray through the enclosed circulation path that the belt creates within the multiple sheet feeder. This process is similar for current feeders used by conventional copy machines.
When a photographic print is used in the above sheet feeder system, the circulation path may force the photo to physically interact with various situations that may damage, or even destroy, the image on the photo. In particular, these situations could include the photo directly interacting with liquids (e.g., cleaning solution) on the scanning surface, a rough surface (e.g., the border containing or an object residing on the scanning surface), small diameter rollers that may bend the photo, and frictional or operational heat created by the circulation path of a conventional document feeder.
In one aspect of the present invention, an apparatus is provided for positioning a plurality of documents over a scanning surface. The apparatus comprises a peripheral device having a scanning surface and a component housing positioned over the scanning surface. The component housing includes an inner belt, an outer belt that interacts with the inner belt adjacent the scanning surface, a belt motor for circulating the inner belt, a tray for containing the plurality of documents, and a roller motor for moving each document of the plurality of documents contained by the tray to a location where the inner and outer belts can interact with the document.
In another aspect of the instant invention, a method is provided for the use of the above apparatus. In particular, the process includes the steps of: place the plurality of documents in a containing tray; rotate a first circulation belt that interacts with a second circulation belt adjacent the scanning surface; rotate a feed roller to move a document of the plurality of documents to a position where the two circulation belts can interact with the document, position the moved document over the scanning surface using the rotating first circulation belt; scan positioned documents using the peripheral device; and remove the scanned document from the scanning surface.